| Have your say on hospital parking |
 |
| Written by Communications Team |
The Department of Health, with the NHS, has launched a consultation on NHS car parking and improving access for people using NHS services.
Here at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust, we know that many patients and visitors experience difficulty in parking due to congestion at certain times and a limited number of parking spaces.
We have recently submitted an outline planning application to Runnymede Borough Council which (together with Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, joint owners of the St. Peter’s site with us) details a long-term vision for developments on the St. Peter’s Hospital site. This includes additional car parking spaces and if approved, we hope to be able to start initial work later this year – see Masterplan link. We also increased the number of car parking spaces at Ashford hospital last year, as far as we were able, which we hope has gone a long way to alleviating car parking problems there.
As a separate issue, the Department of Health are asking the public a series of questions about car parking charges. This is an important issue that can effect all public, patients and staff. While the vast majority of people who use the NHS are happy with the clinical service they receive, many are unhappy about the principle of being charged to park when using services.
The Health Secretary would like to see car parking charges for inpatients phased out over the next three years, as savings from back-office costs allow. A full range of views from public, patient and staff will help develop a more consistent approach to NHS car parking.
Some of the issues to consider include:
- What would be a fair charging system? Should longer-stay patients or those who have to visit the hospital a lot have a discount?
- Many hospitals rely on the income generated through their car parks.
- What about the impact on the environment?
- Some hospitals in busy urban areas are concerned that a free service would be open to abuse by commuters.
The consultation runs until 23rd February 2010. Find out more and take part in the consultation by clicking here.
|
| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 February 2010 15:46 ) |
For Visitors 
